ISTANBUL

Thailand's ousted Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Tuesday mounted a legal challenge to the top court on an ethics violation case that led to her removal from the top elected post in the Southeast Asian nation.

Paetongtarn’s legal team argued that the judicial process on the case that led to her suspension was allegedly unlawful, which the top court ruled on Aug. 29 by a 6-3 vote, Thai Enquirer reported.

The petition filed by the former prime minister’s defense team followed the appointment of Sarawut Songsivilai as the new judge of the top court on Aug. 29, the same day the ruling was issued.

The petition asked the Constitutional Court to annul the process for the case to be reviewed properly, arguing that the case should be reconsidered under the constitutional law.

In response, the court said that Sarawut’s appointment did not affect the ruling, noting that he could not perform his duties at the time.

Paetongtarn was ousted after Thailand’s top court ruled her phone call with Cambodian leader Hun Sen — in which she criticized the military’s 2nd Army Region commander amid border tensions — violated ethical standards of her office.

The court had already suspended her from duty last month while deliberating the case.

The dismissal has caused turbulence for Thailand’s political establishment, which has seen repeated clashes between elected leaders and the judiciary since the ouster of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006.